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In 1989, when the Cold War ended, there were six permanent international courts. Today there are more than two dozen that have collectively issued over thirty-seven thousand binding legal rulings. The New Terrain of International Law charts the developments and trends in the creation and role of international courts, and explains how the delegation of authority to international judicial institutions influences global and domestic politics. The New Terrain of International Law presents an in-depth look at the scope and powers of international courts operating around the world. Focusing on dispute resolution, enforcement, administrative review, and constitutional review, Karen Alter argues that international courts alter politics by providing legal, symbolic, and leverage resources that shift the political balance in favor of domestic and international actors who prefer policies more consistent with international law objectives. International courts name violations of the law and perhaps specify remedies. Alter explains how this limited power--the power to speak the law--translates into political influence, and she considers eighteen case studies, showing how international courts change state behavior. The case studies, spanning issue areas and regions of the world, collectively elucidate the political factors that often intervene to limit whether or not international courts are invoked and whether international judges dare to demand significant changes in state practices.

International law --- International law. --- International courts. --- Human rights. --- Political science --- Law --- International Relations --- General. --- International. --- International courts --- Human Rights --- Andean Tribunal. --- Cold War. --- ECOWAS. --- IC legal review. --- Niger. --- US Congress. --- WTO. --- World War II. --- administrative review. --- authoritarian countries. --- compliance. --- constitutional obedience. --- constitutional review. --- dispute resolution. --- dispute settlement. --- domestic administrative actors. --- domestic courts. --- domestic judges. --- domestic law. --- domestic politics. --- enforcement. --- governments. --- human rights. --- international agreements. --- international court. --- international courts. --- international judicial landscape. --- international judiciary. --- international justice. --- international law. --- international legal institutions. --- international politics. --- international relations. --- judicial architecture. --- judicialization. --- jurisdiction. --- law. --- legal agreement. --- legal practice. --- legal violations. --- legislative process. --- legitimated actors. --- litigants. --- litigation. --- national legal orders. --- nonstate actors. --- political actors. --- political influence. --- rule of law. --- state behaviour. --- state parties. --- state practices. --- supranational administrators. --- unconstitutional acts.